Lucknow: With many districts lagging in the recovery of power dues running into crores of rupees, the Uttar Pradesh government has cracked the whip and taken action against 16 engineers, officials said today.

Following no hike in power tariffs and high pilferage rate, the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) is constantly slipping under debt. The state power corporation is already under a debt to the tune of Rs 9, 000 crore.

The deadlock between the state government and protesting power board staff, who threatened an indefinite strike from Wednesday, ended late on Tuesday as the Uttar Pradesh Power Corporation Limited (UPPCL) agreed not to privatize the sector.

Pushed on the backfoot after "strong political reactions" from New Delhi, the Uttar Pradesh government Friday restored 24x7 power supply to Rae Bareli and Amethi - parliamentary constituencies of Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi.